1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an apparatus for repairing the surface of an optical disc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Optical discs include compact disc (CD), video compact disc (VCD), compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disc re-write (CD-RW) and digital video compact disc (DVD). The data stored in the disc are protected by a transparent layer on the surfaces of the disc. Hand cleaning or wiping of the discs often result in scratches. Also, when using or storing the disc, the transparent layer of the disc is subject to scratching. When passing through the scratch of the transparent layer, the laser beam will be abnormally refracted and it is impossible to truly read the signal.
For solving such problem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,103 xe2x80x9claser disc buffing apparatusxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,650 xe2x80x9cmethod and apparatus for repairing optical discsxe2x80x9d provide buffing wheel for removing the scratches on the surface of the discs. The buffing wheel creates a substantially flat force profile across the readable surface of the disc to facilitate the buffing or polishing of the disc as the wheel is rotatably driven to continually present a flattened profile to the disc. To buff a disc, the disc and the buffing wheel are simultaneously rotated. The disc preferably is rotated at a slower speed than the buffing wheel. The buffing wheel exerts a buffing force normal to the readable surface of the disc. The buffing action on the disc removes material from the readable surface and repair the surface. However, the above buffing wheels have some shortcomings as follows:
1. The buffing force exerted by the buffing wheel onto the readable surface of the disc is greatly varied with different areas of the buffing wheel. The area of the buffing wheel with greater deformation will exert greater force onto the readable surface of the disc. The area of the buffing wheel with less deformation will exert less force onto the readable surface of the disc. Therefore, the buffing pressure is uneven and the buffing effect is poor. Moreover, excessive buffing pressure will lead to damage of the readable surface of the disc.
2. The buffing apparatus has too large volume. The buffing wheel must spread out over the entire readable surface of the disc between the central area and the outer boundary. Therefore, the diameter of the buffing wheel must be larger than the width of the annular readable surface of the disc. Moreover, the buffing wheel must be normal to the readable surface so that the buffing apparatus as a whole will occupy too much room and can be hardly easily carried or stored.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for repairing the surface of a optical disc. The apparatus is able to exert more uniform buffing force onto the readable surface of the optical disc to achieve evener buffing effect without damaging the readable surface.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above repairing apparatus which has smaller volume and can be easily carried or stored.
According to the above objects, the repairing apparatus of the present invention includes a base seat, a rotary seat, an upper cover, a buffing roller and a driving mechanism. The base seat has a first central line. The rotary seat has a disc rest face for a optical disc to rest thereon. The rotary seat is rotatably disposed on the base seat with the first central line of the base seat normal to the disc rest face of the rotary seat. The rotary seat is supported by the base seat to rotate about the first central line thereof. One side of the upper cover is pivotally connected with the rim of the base seat as a first pivot side, whereby the upper cover can be closed and mated with the base seat to cover the same. The buffing roller has a second central line and a buffing layer around the surface of the buffing roller. The buffing layer is centered at the second central line. The buffing roller is rotatably disposed on inner side of the upper cover with the second central line passing over the disc rest face of the rotary seat. When the upper cover is closed to cover the base seat, the buffing layer of the buffing roller contacts with and passes over the annular laser transparent layer of the disc. The driving mechanism is mounted between the rotary seat and the buffing roller for simultaneously rotating the rotary seat and the buffing roller. When rotating, the buffing roller buffs the surface of the laser transparent layer of the disc and at the same time, the rotary seat is driven to rotate, making the disc rested on the disc rest face of the rotary seat rotate about the first central line of the base seat.
In the above repairing apparatus, the driving mechanism includes: a first gear formed around the rim of the rotary seat; a second gear rotatably disposed on the base seat and engaged with the first gear; a third gear fixedly coupled with the second gear and synchronously rotatable along with the second gear; and a fourth gear fixedly coupled with the buffing roller and separably engaged with the third gear.
The above repairing apparatus further includes an operation mechanism for driving the rotary seat and the buffing roller to simultaneously rotate.
In the above repairing apparatus, the operation mechanism includes a crank and is directly fixedly connected with the buffing roller.
The above repairing apparatus further includes a supporting rack having a board pattern. One side of the supporting rack is pivotally connected with the bottom face of the base seat as a second pivot side. The supporting rack is pivotally rotatable relative to the base seat to a folding position where the supporting rack attaches to the bottom face of the base seat. The supporting rack is also pivotally rotatable relative to the base seat to a supporting position where the supporting rack supports the base seat and an angle is contained between the supporting rack and the bottom face of the base seat. A stop section is formed on the bottom face of the base seat and adjacent to the second pivot side. When the supporting rack is pivotally rotated to the supporting position, the supporting rack is stopped by the stop section and one side of the base seat is lifted to facilitate cranking of the crank.
The above repairing apparatus further includes a locking latch including a latch plate and a latch hook. The latch plate is disposed on one side of the upper cover opposite to the first pivot side. The latch hook is disposed on the base seat at a position corresponding to the latch plate, whereby the latch plate can be latched with the latch hook to lock the upper cover with the base seat.
The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein: